Sword and Mirror Read online

  Sword and Mirror

  Written and published by Kate Grove

  Copyright © 2019 Kate Grove

  Kate Grove asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work, under the Act LXXVI of 1999 on Copyright. A catalogue record for this book is available from National Széchényi Library.

  ISBN (paperback): 978-615-00-6226-6

  ISBN (e-book): 978-615-00-6227-3

  http://kategrove.net

  First edition.

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or portions thereof, in any electronic or mechanical means, without prior written permission from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts (max. 1000 words) in a review.

  Cover design © Lauren Bearzatto of Sly Fox Cover Designs

  Editorial work by Red Loop Editing

  This novel is a work of fiction. People, names, places and events portrayed in it are purely products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, places, or events is entirely coincidental.

  Thank you for purchasing this book. Enjoy!

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Chapter 52

  Chapter 53

  Chapter 54

  Chapter 55

  Chapter 56

  Chapter 57

  Chapter 58

  Chapter 59

  Chapter 60

  Chapter 61

  Chapter 62

  Chapter 63

  Chapter 64

  Chapter 65

  Chapter 66

  Chapter 67

  Chapter 68

  Chapter 69

  Epilogue

  Thank You!

  Find me on

  Author’s Note

  To my first readers on Tapas and Patreon

  1

  The car accident had changed everything.

  Ciara accompanied her student on the piano as Marla practiced scales to warm up her vocal cords. Pressing keys with a pause in between was Ciara’s limit. Keeping the grand piano dusted off was her duty. Gone was the talented master pianist.

  Ciara turned to her student when they finished warming up. “What would you like to learn next?” Marla was standing in the middle of the living room, and her eyes sparkled in excitement.

  “The Queen of the Night aria.”

  Ciara froze for a moment at hearing that before reaching for her phone on top of the piano.

  “You’re not going to sing it to me?”

  “I’m sorry, I can’t.” She flashed her an apologetic smile.

  “Because of the high note?”

  “You could say that.” Ciara found a record of the aria. “Let’s hear it first.”

  Marla nodded, pricking her ears, listening to the voice of the opera singer on the record. Ciara could see the wonder on her face and silently pondered if she wore the same expression at that moment. Mozart’s music always enchanted her.

  “Wow…”

  “Indeed,” Ciara chuckled. “Marla, you have a beautiful soprano voice, but let’s not strain your vocal cords right at the beginning. Let’s start with a lower note.”

  Marla seemed to think it over. Eventually, she nodded, happy with the decision.

  Ciara pressed a key on the piano. “This will be your starting note. Let me replay the first ten seconds…”

  The class went on in a similar style. Marla was satisfied when they finished, having gotten to sing the famous part of the aria, albeit a few notes lower than how it was originally written. Ciara knew few people could sing such a high note, herself included.

  “See you next week! And don’t forget to warm up your vocal cords before you sing! We don’t want a repeat of last month!” Ciara said as she walked Marla to the door.

  “Yes, ma’am!” Marla saluted dutifully as she exited. She disappeared down the corridor the next moment.

  Ciara grabbed the letters lying on the threshold, her chestnut-colored hair falling over her shoulder. She brushed it away as she straightened up and quietly closed the door.

  “Is she gone?” She jumped at the voice coming from behind her.

  “Karen?! I thought you were at the uni.”

  “My morning lecture was canceled.” Her cousin poked her blond head through the doorway from her room. She looked around and ventured out to the living room. “Thank Goddess, she’s gone. I thought I’d have to pee on the carpet!” she exclaimed before disappearing into the bathroom. The only way to the restroom from Karen’s room was through the living room where Ciara usually held her lessons.

  Ciara snorted at Karen’s outburst and walked to the fridge, thinking about their current situation. Her cousin had just started studying at the local university and was probably going to stay for the next couple of years, not counting the breaks. Ciara had to come up with a solution so Karen wouldn’t need to go out every time there was a lesson. She wanted her little cousin to consider this place a home away from home.

  Her gaze landed on the small pile of letters. One of them was a medical bill. Ciara had seen the logo on the left top corner enough times in the last five years not to miss it. She scowled and threw the letter to the far corner of the counter, unopened, then she turned to pour herself some orange juice.

  Just then, Karen exited the bathroom and came over to Ciara. She was wearing a T-shirt with an anime character on the front, and she was just tying up her long hair.

  “Juice?” Ciara asked.

  “Thanks.”

  She grabbed another glass and filled it to the brim. “Cheers!”

  “Kanpai!”

  They grinned and downed the refreshing orange juice. A moment of silence passed between them before Ciara spoke.

  “So, when is your next class?”

  “I’ve a seminar at noon. I still need to look through my kanji list, though. You?” Karen adjusted her glasses.

  Ciara glanced at the clock on the wall. The clockface looked like a piano sheet, and the fingers reminded her of clefs.

  “I need to leave soon.”

  Karen grabbed a block of cheese from the fridge and looked at her older cousin.

  “You’re doing a house call? That’s rare.”

  “Yep.”

  Karen fished a knife out from one of the drawers and started cutting the cheese into tiny cubes.

  “You’re not happy about it,” she observed while dicing.
>
  Ciara made a face and went around the apartment to gather her things.

  “Truth is, he was a bit rude on the phone.”

  “Then why accept him as a student?” Karen asked. “Just don’t.”

  “It’s not that simple…”

  “You know I hate it when you treat me like a kid.”

  “I didn’t mean to,” Ciara replied but didn’t elaborate. Karen sighed, deciding to change the subject.

  “Have I told you yet you’re my favorite cousin?”

  Ciara stopped in her preparations and looked at Karen with suspicion in her eyes.

  “Not today. Why, what do you want?”

  “Oh, don’t be such a cynic!”

  “Karen.” Ciara’s tone changed in warning.

  “I was hoping you would come back with me for Thanksgiving.”

  “Thanks, but no thanks.”

  “But—”

  “No means no, Karen.” Ciara was adamant as she grabbed her purple sunglasses.

  Her little cousin sighed sadly. She mumbled, barely audible, “Promise me you’ll at least think about it.”

  Ciara doubted her aunt would want to see the face of the person responsible for the death of her beloved sister. If only she hadn’t taken such a long time that day to get ready and make her mother drive faster, the accident wouldn’t have happened. Ciara’s thoughts were going in a dark direction.

  Karen opened her mouth to nag her more.

  “Don’t try to convince me.” Ciara’s voice had a weird tint to it. Karen shut her mouth immediately.

  “See you later?” Ciara quickly changed the subject, feeling awkward.

  “Yeah, take care.” Karen walked to her room with a small plate of cheese cubes.

  “You too!”

  Karen waved at Ciara, disappearing behind her door. Ciara exited the apartment and sighed, trying to calm her turbulent thoughts. Her hands trembled as she put on her sunglasses, reminding her of the medical bills which had arrived with the post. She needed to focus to handle the unpleasant man who would be her new student. He had silenced all her protests when he told her a price. She couldn’t say no to such an offer.

  2

  Ciara had jogged to catch the bus to the other end of town. If she missed it, she would be twenty minutes late. Now that she sat on the bus, panting a little, she could be sure she’d be early by half an hour.

  She hated public transportation, but she had no other choice. She wasn’t going to drive again. Hell, she wasn’t going to sit in a car again, even as a passenger, if she could help it.

  The seats were uncomfortable, and she idly wondered how to best position herself for the long bus ride. It took her a while to settle down, and just as she did, they arrived at the next stop. A group of kids got on with a couple of adults. The children chatted away noisily as they sat down, herded together by the teachers. The bright yellow, high visibility jackets the kids wore and their loud voices made Ciara feel dizzy. She closed her eyes and sighed. She didn’t have anything in particular against children, but all the noise was giving her a headache today. She wished they’d quiet down, but the teachers either didn’t care or didn’t notice how disruptive the group was.

  “Let it go!” A boy argued with another as they both refused to relinquish a toy to the other. Their shouting quickly grew louder.

  “Quiet…” Ciara murmured as she dug around her pockets to find her earphones. “I need some quiet.”

  Suddenly, it was as if someone put a mute button on the world. She looked up and saw that everyone on the bus stopped talking. Ciara blinked in surprise to take in the vacant stares of everyone as they kept silent. An eerie pressure weighed down on the passengers.

  A gasp escaped Ciara as she realized she had accidentally caused this strange phenomenon. But it was too late for her to do anything about it; she didn’t remember how to undo it. I swore never to use this power again, yet here I am, restricting people’s free will.

  Until the effect wore off naturally, these people would remain quiet, just as she had wished. Since there was nothing she could do, she plugged in her earphones and started her playlist. As she listened to The Swan Lake theme song, undisturbed, she hoped today wouldn’t keep another strange thing in store for her. She had had enough surprises for one day.

  This part of town was full of mansions, and Ciara wandered around until she spotted the home of her new student. The building was made of orange-hued bricks and had an early nineteenth-century feel to it. Ivy ran up one side, and wrought-iron fences embraced the estate. It looked a little bit run-down, and Ciara silently wondered why the owner wouldn’t maintain their mansion if they could afford to pay her such a high hourly rate.

  She shrugged and checked the time again. She still had twenty or so minutes until the lesson began. Looking around, she spotted a park nearby and decided it would be a pleasant place to wait. Finding a bench, she sat down to check new emails.

  Great. She received an e-mail from her medical insurance company. The next installment of paying for her latest operation was due in a few days.

  As soon as I get home, Ciara thought, I need to check what’s in the envelope. She sighed, checking her credit balance.

  She winced at the information on the screen. Rude or not, she really needed this new client’s money to pay off her debt. Until then, she couldn’t even entertain the idea of the new method she’d read about that could help heal her hands. Thin, white lines could still be seen on her once-smooth palms and on the back of her hands.

  Her fingers trembled.

  Next, she checked her debit card balance and was pleasantly surprised when she realized her aunt had once again transferred Karen’s rent. Ciara didn’t know whether to be annoyed or grateful. She had clearly told Kelly there was no need for Karen to pay rent, but her aunt ignored her request and sent the money anyway.

  Ciara quickly transferred the full amount to a savings account. She had set it up after the first two instances of Aunt Kelly transferring the money and refusing to take it back. Ciara was adamant about not accepting rent from family, so this was the only solution she could came up with. She was sure Karen would find it useful later whenever she eventually told her.

  Her phone rang, and Ciara’s eyes widened. She was one minute late, and her new student was already calling her! She quickly grabbed her bag and answered the call as she started speed-walking in the direction of the mansion.

  “Hello?”

  “Where are you?”

  “I’m just outside. Give me a couple of minutes.”

  “We agreed on eleven. It’s past eleven.”

  “I know, I’m sorry.” Ciara ground her teeth, swallowing her retort. “See you in a moment.”

  She ended the call, already frustrated with him. It was only one frickin’ minute! She huffed and marched to the orange-hued mansion. She was about to ring the bell, but the gate opened automatically as she approached.

  “Hn.” She was not going to be impressed by that.

  Ciara walked along the short path to the door and took the few stairs until she arrived at the entrance. Once again, when she was just about to knock, the door opened a crack.

  “Hello?” she called as she opened the door. Silence answered. “Hello, can I come in?”

  No reply. She shrugged, deciding to enter. After all, he sounded impatient on the phone. As she made her way inside, she was surprised not to hear any signs of life.

  “Anyone—” Ciara’s sentence ended in a shriek as the door loudly shut behind her. She jumped and whirled around, her heart hammering in her chest. Only now did she realize how stale the air smelled. Her suspicion increased when she looked around and saw white sheets covering every piece of furniture.

  She pushed the sunglasses to the top of her head as she stopped in the middle of the foyer and redialed the last caller. A moment later, she heard the ringtone coming from upstairs. A long, winding staircase led up to the second floor. She waited a little before making her way upstairs. Nobody answ
ered the phone, but it kept on ringing. Maybe something happened to her new student?

  What if he collapsed? What if he had a heart attack? She took two stairs at a time and sprinted toward the sound of the ringtone. Every second counted in a situation like this.

  Finally, she arrived in the room with the cell phone. She ended the call and looked around. There was a big mirror with an ornate frame; it looked oriental. The silver surface was blackened in some spots, betraying its age. Her gaze stopped at the grand piano occupying most of the room. Mesmerized, Ciara made her way to it, stroking the keys lightly as if in a trance.

  Wait, where is he? Ciara thought, glancing up, but she couldn’t see anybody. She was alone.

  “Hello?” she called out again. She couldn’t hear any movement in the mansion. What if he really did collapse? She headed for the door when she caught sight of a cell phone lying in front of the mirror. She decided to get it, just in case.

  “Where’s your owner?” Accusation was clear in her voice as she squatted down to reach for the phone.